Scheduled print job?

[ManyBeers]

Is there a way to schedule Windows to print a.doc on a weekly schedule?

 

[Jay Freedman]

Is there a way to schedule Windows to print a.doc on a weekly schedule?

You need a scheduling application, which is not a function built into Word.
There are many third-party scheduling programs available on the Web, some for
free (check Google). There is one included in Windows. In Windows Vista, start
typing "schedule" in the Start menu search box to find the Task Scheduler
program; in Windows XP, it's on the Start menu at Programs > Accessories >
System Tools > Scheduled Tasks.

To set it up, browse to the Word executable file, usually C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office <version>\WinWord.exe.

This much only runs the Word program. You also have to tell it the path and
filename of the document you want to print, and add a command that tells Word to
print the document.

In Windows XP's task scheduler, you add this information to the end of the
WinWord.exe path and filename, in the Run box on the Advanced Properties dialog
for the task. In Windows Vista, there is a separate box labeled "Add arguments"
where the information goes.

The document's path and filename should be enclosed in quotes, like

"C:\Users\<your name>\Documents\myDoc.doc"

The print command is

/mFilePrintDefault

There should be a space between the closing quote of the filename and the slash
of the command.

You also will tell the program to run the task weekly, on which day and at what
time; and there will be other options.

The Windows scheduler program doesn't have any way to close Word after the
printing is done. Some of the third-party programs may be able to do that.

 

[ManyBeers]

You need a scheduling application, which is not a function built into Word.
There are many third-party scheduling programs available on the Web, some for
free (check Google). There is one included in Windows. In Windows Vista, start
typing "schedule" in the Start menu search box to find the Task Scheduler
program; in Windows XP, it's on the Start menu at Programs > Accessories >
System Tools > Scheduled Tasks.

To set it up, browse to the Word executable file, usually C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office <version>\WinWord.exe.

This much only runs the Word program. You also have to tell it the path and
filename of the document you want to print, and add a command that tells Word to
print the document.

In Windows XP's task scheduler, you add this information to the end of the
WinWord.exe path and filename, in the Run box on the Advanced Properties dialog
for the task. In Windows Vista, there is a separate box labeled "Add arguments"
where the information goes.

The document's path and filename should be enclosed in quotes, like

"C:\Users\<your name>\Documents\myDoc.doc"

The print command is

/mFilePrintDefault

There should be a space between the closing quote of the filename and the slash
of the command.

You also will tell the program to run the task weekly, on which day and at what
time; and there will be other options.

The Windows scheduler program doesn't have any way to close Word after the
printing is done. Some of the third-party programs may be able to do that.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit.

Thanks for the quick reply Jay. I have set the task up too run today at 3:45
mountain time in about 3 minutes. I'll report back

 

[ManyBeers]

Thanks for the quick reply Jay. I have set the task up too run today at 3:45
mountain time in about 3 minutes. I'll report back

I had to make a change to your instructions. I ended up having nothing in
the arguments field and simply Browsed to the document and appended the Print
command you supplied me with. The job ran after making this change but
unfortunately my printer only has the color cartridge in it
so it did not actually print the .doc out. I am confident it will though
when I have both cartridges in it.

When I ran the job as you had instructed me to what happened was a blank
Word document opened up, the 1st time it presented me with the EULA(I ran it
twice). That print command I am writing down so I will have it in case I need
to do this again.

 

[ManyBeers]

I had to make a change to your instructions. I ended up having nothing in
the arguments field and simply Browsed to the document and appended the Print
command you supplied me with. The job ran after making this change but
unfortunately my printer only has the color cartridge in it
so it did not actually print the .doc out. I am confident it will though
when I have both cartridges in it.

When I ran the job as you had instructed me to what happened was a blank
Word document opened up, the 1st time it presented me with the EULA(I ran it
twice). That print command I am writing down so I will have it in case I need
to do this again.

Update! Apparently Task Scheduler put the print command in the arguments
field. I opened the task up to write down the command and I noticed it was
in the arguments field. So I guess that is where it goes. Thanks for your
help Jay.

 

[ManyBeers]

Update! Apparently Task Scheduler put the print command in the arguments
field. I opened the task up to write down the command and I noticed it was
in the arguments field. So I guess that is where it goes. Thanks for your
help Jay.

Well my ink finally arrived in the mail and I remade the task but no
printing takes place. The document opens fine but does not print. The printer
works fine as i can print manually at will. What's the deal?

 

[Jay Freedman]

ManyBeers wrote:
[snip]

Well my ink finally arrived in the mail and I remade the task but no
printing takes place. The document opens fine but does not print. The
printer works fine as i can print manually at will. What's the deal?

The deal is probably that when you made "a change to your instructions" you
didn't get it quite right. It can be very finicky about correct syntax.

Can I assume from your mention of the arguments field that you're working in
Vista?

Exactly what is in each field of the task properties dialog? Copy/paste each
field content into your reply, and type the name of the field before it.

One important point is that there must not be any spaces in

/mFilePrintDefault

but there should be a space before the slash.

If that's OK, then try putting the whole thing -- the path and filename of
Winword.exe, then the path and filename of the document, and finally the
/mFilePrintDefault -- into one line in the Run box on the Start menu. Does
that print the document?

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[ManyBeers]

ManyBeers wrote:
[snip]

Well my ink finally arrived in the mail and I remade the task but no
printing takes place. The document opens fine but does not print. The
printer works fine as i can print manually at will. What's the deal?

The deal is probably that when you made "a change to your instructions" you
didn't get it quite right. It can be very finicky about correct syntax.

Can I assume from your mention of the arguments field that you're working in
Vista?

Exactly what is in each field of the task properties dialog? Copy/paste each
field content into your reply, and type the name of the field before it.

One important point is that there must not be any spaces in

/mFilePrintDefault

but there should be a space before the slash.

If that's OK, then try putting the whole thing -- the path and filename of
Winword.exe, then the path and filename of the document, and finally the
/mFilePrintDefault -- into one line in the Run box on the Start menu. Does
that print the document?

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

It's fixed Jay. The problem was my lack of knowledge. I have changed the
document from a .doc file to a jpeg which was my original print task. But I
continued to use /mFilePrintDefault as the print command when Irfanview was
the program selected to load the file. I didn't know that mFilePrintDefault
is a command specific to Word
so i was basically trying to tell Irfanview what to do using a Word command.
A guy on another forum spotted my mistake and corrected me. It works fine
now. I have a lot to learn about the command line. Again thanks for your time
and effort.

 

[Jay Freedman]

On Sat, 23 May 2009 07:44:01 -0700, ManyBeers

It's fixed Jay. The problem was my lack of knowledge. I have changed the
document from a .doc file to a jpeg which was my original print task. But I
continued to use /mFilePrintDefault as the print command when Irfanview was
the program selected to load the file. I didn't know that mFilePrintDefault
is a command specific to Word
so i was basically trying to tell Irfanview what to do using a Word command.
A guy on another forum spotted my mistake and corrected me. It works fine
now. I have a lot to learn about the command line. Again thanks for your time
and effort.

Excellent, I'm glad it's sorted.

For anyone else finding this thread, the equivalent command-line option in
IrfanView is

/print

This is listed in the IrfanView help file, in the "Command Line Options" topic.